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Stltoday.com: St. Louis priest indicted on federal child porn charge

ST. LOUIS • A Roman Catholic priest from St. Louis, the Rev. William F. Vatterott, was indicted Wednesday on one federal child pornography charge, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The indictment says Vatterott, 36, possessed at least two images of an unidentified nude boy on his computer between June 2010 and June 2011. He is expected to appear in federal court late this week or early next week. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

His attorney could not be reached for comment.

Vatterott was ordained in 2003. He was associate pastor at Holy Infant Church in Ballwin, then became pastor of St. Cecilia Parish, at 5418 Louisiana Avenue, in 2008. He was placed on administrative leave effective June 29, 2011, after a complaint was filed with the Ballwin police.

In a statement released at the time, Monsignor Richard Hanneke, vicar of priests, said Vatterott was placed on leave after two teenagers reported incidents of inappropriate correspondence. Vatterott was also accused of involvement in underage drinking and “other inappropriate behaviors.”

In a statement Wednesday, the Archdiocese of St. Louis said it “has fully cooperated with the investigation conducted by law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s office.”

The archdiocese said reports of misconduct with a minor against any church personnel should be directed to Phil Hengen, the director of child and youth protection, at 314-792-7704, the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline, at 800-392-3737, or police.